@jakibantiles said:
Hello po. 10 months pa lang po kami ni hubs dito sa Sydney. Planning to have kids and hopefully makabili ng bahay as soon as possible. Umaabot ng 5k yung expenses namin monthly which I think sobrang laki. Any tipid tips po sa everyday expenses and even cheap but good quality buys na pwedeng dayuhin dito sa AU? Halimbawa, bili sa Cabramatta vs Costco, Coles or Woolworths, furnitures, clothes, kids essentials, etc. Kahit anong tipid tips po sana. Salamat po sa magsheshare! 😍
If I may ask, what's the breakdown of that 5k/month living expenses?
Generally the rent ang pinakamalaki na gastos, then transpo, utilities/bills. If it's an option for you to move to a more affordable place for the next year or so para makaipon for house downpayment, that would be better because short-term sacrifice sya. Rent in Sydney can be very expensive, especially if you live close to CBD. If there's nothing you can do about the rent, shop around for better utility providers--mobile, gas, electricity, etc. For my mobile plan I pay only AUD 30/month with 40Gb data with Vaya, because it didn't include a new phone. I have never paid for gas/elec/water bills before because I always look for a room for rent (houseshare) that includes all those na (I paid AUD 230/week but I lived near CBD so bawas gastos din sa transpo). I did the same here in Brisbane, so ang main expenses ko nlng are transpo (I don't drive in Australia, so public transpo all the way), mobile plan, extra health insurance, and food (Coles/Woolies/Aldi). Then miminsan lang ako magshopping (Kmart, Big W, Target, and Daiso are my go-to places). Coles and Woolies have pretty much the same range of products, so check out their weekly sales. Kung alin yung may discount, dun ako bibili, then I'll figure out a menu based on the product on sale, hehehe. I think the location/place to shop only makes a small difference, especially since dalawa lang kayo ng husband mo (it'll probably only make a big difference kung marami kayong anak).
I understand that as a couple you need your own place, and that's perfectly fine. My advice is just to identify what are your savings goals first, then work out a maximum budget that you're willing to spend for living expenses (rent, transpo, bills, food, shopping). As a single person, I survived on a monthly budget of AUD 1200 (AUD 1500 if ma-shopping or laging may takeaway for that month hehe) for the past 3 years. I've cut my expenses to the bare minimum/essentials, then the rest go to savings.
One big expense na minsan hindi maiwasan is to eat out/takeaway, especially if you live near a takeaway place (which was the case for me in Sydney). Here in Brisbane, iilan lang yung takeaway place around my house so I was forced to do more homecooking with simpler dishes (less ingredients = less spending). Also, I limit my visits to grocery and shopping centers to a minimum para hindi ma-tempt magshopping hehehe.
Hope that helps.